Digital Commons Network^™

A Quantitative Evaluation Of An Innovative Family Treatment Court Program For Families With Co-Occurring Child Maltreatment And Substance Use., Ashley Rose Logsdon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Substance use is linked to out-of-home care in over 40% of child welfare cases. This dissertation evaluated the experience of families with co-occurring child maltreatment and substance use in Family Recovery Court (FRC), an innovative family treatment court involving the judicial system, child welfare system, and behavioral health. Study One used a quasi-experimental propensity score match design, using administrative data and the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale for 68 families. The FRC group experienced better safety (substantiated repeat maltreatment), permanency (reunification), and well-being outcomes. The percentage of the FRC group who achieved reunification (81.2%) was significantly higher than that of …

A Little Bit Of Everything: Persistence Though The Pre-Medical Pipeline For First And Continuing Generation Students., Tana R. Didelot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study examines pre-medical college student persistence in their pathway to medical education. Through the framework of Terenzini and Reason’s College Student Persistence Model (2005), this work sought to understand the pre-college experiences, campus support factors, and external environments that help pre-medical college students to continue toward their goal of medical school entry. This study included pre-medical undergraduate students in the campus context of one public institution in the Southern Unites States. Pre-medical upperclassmen students were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol developed with the persistence framework. The analysis was conducted to obtain a more nuanced understanding of the …

Understanding How Social Media Influences Student Engagement Within The Classroom: Middle Grades Students' Perspectives., Anthony Dawyne Myrks-Brewer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the concept of student engagement and participation through the lens of middle school students. Studies and research show that overall student engagement amongst middle school-aged students is the most unengaged period throughout students' K-12 educational journey. Today's students live in a completely different generation from their guardians and parents due to the technology component, including smartphones making the element of social media more accessible. Social media is a platform that helps people communicate through various applications, and middle school students engage and participate in various social media applications daily. Student engagement is a critical component within education …

Patient, Provider, And Health System Characteristics Leading To The Delivery Of Low Value Health Care Services And Outcomes Of An Intervention For Mitigating Low Value Care., Philip Ray Rohrer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States spends more on health care than any other country, and Medicare accounted for nearly one-quarter of total personal health care spending in 2019. Waste within the health care system in the United States is estimated to represent approximately 25% of total U.S. health care expenditures. Low value care includes health care services that provide little or no benefit to patients, have potential to cause harm, incur unnecessary costs to patients, or waste limited healthcare resources. Low value care is estimated to represent roughly 10% of total health care waste, or between $75.7 billion and $101.2 billion dollars …

Spectrum Optimization For Advanced Air Mobility Communications Using Deep Reinforcement Learning., Rafael D. Apaza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As aviation operations expand and new participants enter the National Airspace System (NAS), the demand for aeronautical communications will experience a significant rise. This surge is propelled by increased air travel and the emergence of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations, a subset of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). UAM aims to facilitate intra-city transportation of people and cargo utilizing remotely piloted aircraft capable of electric vertical takeoff and landing operations. The growing dependence on efficient wireless communication systems underscores the critical importance of intelligent spectrum allocation and effective airspace management to ensure safe, seamless, and technologically advanced air operations. However, the …

How White Supremacy Travels Through Time: Anti-Literacy Laws, Dei Bans, And The Issue Of Black Self-Determination In Public Health., Nicole V. Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation used a qualitative policy content analysis (PCA) of historical anti-literacy laws and modern DEI bans to answer two research questions: What is the connection between anti-literacy laws and DEI bans? How do anti-literacy laws and DEI bans create an environment that maintains white supremacy? A PCA exercise informed the analysis of historical anti-literacy laws in South Carolina (1834), Georgia (1829), North Carolina (1830), Louisiana (1830), Virginia (1831), and Alabama (1833) and modern DEI bans in Texas (2023), Alabama (2024), and Florida (2023) to find the connection between the laws. Findings from this dissertation illustrate how white supremacy operates …

Ai-Driven Approach For Diagnosis Of Renal Transplant Rejection Based On Biomarkers Identification And Integration., Israa Sharaby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

They kidney is a vital organ for which humans are fortunate to find a spare through transplantation to sustain critical body functions, offering a hope to those struggling with renal failure. Kidney transplant procedure is the optimal treatment for people who suffer from end-stage renal failure. However, there are posed challenges due to the risk of immune rejection and the limited availability of donors. Early detection of renal rejection can provide timely intervention and accurate diagnosis that are critical to improve the transplant outcomes. This study explores the innovative approaches for addressing the current challenges through biomarkers identification, imaging techniques, …

Understanding Carceral Pathways And Outcomes Of Marginalized Adults Who Use Drugs., Carmen Renee Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of outcomes among substance users at various stages of the incarceration process divided among five chapters. Chapter One provides an overview of substance use disorder (SUD), incarceration, and wider justice system-involvement, and explores how the political economy of health theoretical framework can be applied to examine how the criminal justice system creates and perpetuates inequality among marginalized people who use substances. Chapter Two examines post-release health outcomes among the population of incarcerated people who use substances using a scoping review and finds that people in reentry with SUD have poorer overall outcomes that without transitional …

High Energy Density Lithium-Ion Battery Materials., Rachel Dewees

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growth of the EV industry has created an increased demand for Li-ion battery electrode materials, and support of a robust lithium-ion battery supply chain is a national imperative. For mainstream acceptance in the American market, the range of EVs must be improved, i.e., the energy density of the battery must be increased. Increasing the specific capacity of the electrode materials is the most direct strategy for increasing the energy density of the battery. Silicon anode materials have a theoretical capacity of over 3700 mAh·g^-1 - an order of magnitude beyond that of the graphitic materials which are currently implemented. …

Differential Responses Of Human Neutrophils To Legionella Species., Hannah E. Hanford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legionella species are Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens commonly found in freshwater or soil environments where they survive and replicate within their natural protozoan hosts. Humans serve as an accidental host for Legionella species after inhalation of contaminated aerosolized water droplets or soil particles enabling the bacteria to enter the lungs, infect alveolar macrophages, and result in severe pneumonia. Evasion of degradation and proliferation within alveolar macrophages by Legionella species and manifestation of “Legionnaires’ disease” is dependent on the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS). The T4SS apparatus is a needle-like channel for translocation of over ~350 effector proteins, depending …

Plasma Resuscitation Attenuates Hemorrhage-Induced Glomerular Barrier Damage And Dysfunction., William Byron Risinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Acute renal dysfunction following traumatic injury and hemorrhagic shock carries significant morbidity and mortality. Despite an extensive understanding of renal tubule damage after injury, less is known regarding early alterations to the glomerular filtration barrier following hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation. Previously, our lab and others have demonstrated improved hepatic and intestinal microcirculatory parameters when resuscitation strategies incorporate fresh frozen plasma. In addition to improving end-organ perfusion, plasma reconstitutes the endothelial glycocalyx, an essential regulator of vascular permeability and microcirculatory function. However, the impact of plasma resuscitation on the glomerular glycocalyx and barrier following hemorrhage remains unknown. We hypothesized …

"How Are You?": Asking Idaho Career And Technical Student Organization Advisors About Their Subjective Personal And Professional Well-Being, Montana Keating

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this paper was to assess how Career and Technical Educators (CTE) who serve as advisors for Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) perceive their personal and professional well-being in their careers, as well as to evaluate whether these educators feel supported and valued within their communities. The hypothesis proposed that the personal well-being responses of CTSO advisors would directly correspond with their career well-being responses. Quantitative data intended for qualitative analysis were collected through an anonymous survey focusing on Subjective Well-Being (SWB), distributed via email by Idaho’s CTE Department or through a QR code scanned by advisors …

Open-Source Cubesat Flight Board, Braydon M. Burkhardt

Electrical Engineering

The Helmsman Flight Board is an open-source main flight computer and electrical power system for educational and entry-level CubeSats. The board incorporates commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components in conjunction with simplified monitoring and management circuitry, supporting easy adoption, modifiability, and affordability while crucially enabling the emerging aerospace industry’s rapid ‘design-build-test’ methodology in student satellite teams. Its design includes essential CubeSat subsystems such as battery management, command and data handling, attitude determination, on-board processing, and is built to support real-time embedded operating systems. Key features include an Arm Cortex-M7 based STM32, radiation-resistant memory for OS storage, bulk Flash memory, real-time clock, two …

Carroll County Advisory Council Minutes 2020, Mikayla Cerney

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Students Participating As Ambassadors For Research In Kentucky (Spark): A Health Equity Undergraduate Research Training Program, Ariel A. Arthur, Rebecca L. Delacerda Allen, Fidelis Y. Sesenu, Maxwell A. Groznik, Carrie B. Oser, Madeline Dunfee, Philip A. Kern, Nancy Schoenberg

UK CARES Faculty Publications

The Students Participating as Ambassadors for Research in Kentucky (SPARK) program provides novel health equity research training and targeted mentorship for undergraduates, particularly those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral research and workforce. SPARK aims to address inadequate diversity in the medical and scientific research fields by providing comprehensive research mentorship and skill-building. Unlike most existing research training programs that are brief, focus on laboratory research, or are limited to graduate students and junior faculty, SPARK delivers a 16-month intensive behavioral and population health science training, equipping students with needed tools to conceptualize, plan, execute, and analyze their …

Methanogenesis Kinetics Of Organic Matter Of The Leachate In An Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor, Mohamad Ali Fulazzaky, Ali Yuzir, Tiffany L. Messer, Agus Sofyan

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Understanding the treatment of leachate mediated by the development of anaerobic sludge makes it possible to create an effective design process of biodegradation technology. This study used an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor equipped with a gas–liquid-solid separator to capture CH4 for treating landfill leachate to improve understanding of methanogenesis kinetics of organic matter. The performance of UASB was able to remove 154.75 g/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD) content of the leachate originally anticipated to emit 2.99 L of CH4 production into the atmosphere. The trend in the variation of internal mass transfer (IMT) factor was close to …

Microbial Community Assembly Across Agricultural Soil Mineral Mesocosms Revealed By 16s Rrna Gene Amplicon Sequencing Data, Daniel Lee, Fernanda C C Oliveira, Richard T. Conant, Minjae Kim

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations are impacting the global climate, resulting in significant interest in soil carbon sequestration as a mitigation strategy. While recognized that mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) in soils is mainly formed through microbial activity, our understanding of microbial-derived MAOM formation processes remains limited due to the complexity of the soil environment. To gain insights into this issue, we incubated fresh soil samples for 45 days with one of three mineral additions: Sand, Kaolinite+Sand, or Illite+Sand. 16S rRNA V3/V4 gene amplicon sequencing was then conducted on samples using an Illumina NextSeq 20 0 0 flow …

Myosin Xva Isoforms Participate In The Mechanotransduction-Dependent Remodeling Of The Actin Cytoskeleton In Auditory Stereocilia, Ana I. López-Porras, Ava M. Kruse, Mark T. Mcclendon, A. Catalina Vélez-Ortega

Neurology Faculty Publications

Auditory hair cells form precise and sensitive staircase-like actin protrusions known as stereocilia. These specialized microvilli detect deflections induced by sound through the activation of mechano-electrical transduction (MET) channels located at their tips. At rest, a small MET channel current results in a constant calcium influx which regulates the morphology of the actin cytoskeleton in the shorter ‘transducing’ stereocilia. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in this novel type of activity-driven plasticity in the stereocilium cytoskeleton are currently unknown. Here, we tested the contribution of myosin XVA (MYO15A) isoforms, given their known roles in the regulation of stereocilia dimensions during hair …

Nuclear Energy Is Clean And Safe Energy, Katie Morland

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

From the grappling fear of horrific meltdowns to the promise of new innovative advancements, nuclear energy has been surrounded by misunderstandings and myths for decades. A non-partisan approach from media outlets is essential for having a well-balanced understanding of how nuclear energy works and why it is good for our consumption.

Despite bias concerns that are leading to misunderstanding, nuclear energy offers a wide range of reliable cleaner types of energy. Moving forward we need to ask ourselves are we going to keep letting misinformation and misconceptions stop us from developing better advancements in nuclear energy for cleaner energy use …

Zoning Regulations Are Harming Nebraska’S Wind Energy Future, Carter Probst

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Nebraska is a prime location for renewable energy sources, such as wind. According to Climate Central, a policy-neutral non-profit, “While Nebraska ranks fourth among U.S States for potential wind energy generation, it ranks 15th in installed capacity.” What is the number one reason Nebraska has not fully tapped into its potential, which would have numerous economic and climate benefits? Harsh zoning regulations at the county level, fueled by misinformation, have made installation of wind turbines nearly impossible across multiple counties in Nebraska.

Learning To Represent Temporal Dynamics And Generative Factors For Intelligent Visual Navigation, Sahand Khoshdel

All Theses

Visual navigation systems are crucial in various applications, including autonomous driving, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and industrial automation. For these systems to operate efficiently in dynamic environments, they must not only interpret complex surroundings but also anticipate changes over time. Temporal prediction—forecasting environmental changes like moving obstacles or shifting lighting conditions—enables navigation systems to act proactively, enhancing both safety and performance. This dissertation investigates representation learning methods both as a backbone feature extractor for RL agents as well as a proxy for systems oriented for Explainable AI (XAI). Two main projects are presented as case studies to achieve the aforementioned …

Variation Patterns Of Fine Root Biomass, Production, And Turnover Rates In Four Subtropical Forests Of China, Jingjie Fang, Xiaoxin Feng, Yuanying Peng, Jun Wang, Xiaohong Wu, Wende Yan, Xiaoyong Chen

Faculty Authors and Creators Reception

Fine roots (diameter ≤ 2 mm) play a critical role in regulating soil organic carbon storage and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. However, the variability in fine root biomass, production, and turnover rates across different forest types remains poorly understood. This study investigates fine root dynamics, including biomass, distribution, and turnover, across four major monoculture plantation forests in subtropical China: Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook), Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.), Chinese sweet gum (Liquidambar formosana Hance), and camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl). Using a sequential coring method, soil samples were collected monthly to monitor live and dead …

A Graph Theoretical Approach To Experimental Prioritization In Genome-Scale Investigations., Stephen K Grady, Kevin A Peterson, Stephen A Murray, Erich J Baker, Michael A Langston, Elissa J Chesler

Faculty Research 2024

The goal of systems biology is to gain a network level understanding of how gene interactions influence biological states, and ultimately inform upon human disease. Given the scale and scope of systems biology studies, resource constraints often limit researchers when validating genome-wide phenomena and potentially lead to an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Further, prioritization strategies are often biased towards known entities (e.g. previously studied genes/proteins with commercially available reagents), and other technical issues that limit experimental breadth. Here, heterogeneous biological information is modeled as an association graph to which a high-performance minimum dominating set solver is applied to …

The Mutant Mouse Resource And Research Center (Mmrrc) Consortium: The Us-Based Public Mouse Repository System., Yuksel Agca, James Amos-Landgraf, Renee Araiza, Jennifer Brennan, Charisse Carlson, Dominic Ciavatta, Dave Clary, Craig Franklin, Ian Korf, Cathleen Lutz, Terry Magnuson, Fernando Pardo-Manuel De Villena, Oleg Mirochnitchenko, Samit Patel, Dan Port, Laura G Reinholdt, K C Kent Lloyd

Faculty Research 2024

Now in its 25th year, the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC) consortium continues to serve the United States and international biomedical scientific community as a public repository and distribution archive of laboratory mouse models of human disease for research. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the MMRRC consists of 4 regionally distributed and dedicated vivaria, offices, and specialized laboratory facilities and an Informatics Coordination and Service Center (ICSC). The overarching purpose of the MMRRC is to facilitate groundbreaking biomedical research by offering an extensive repertoire of mutant mice that are essential for advancing the understanding of …

Taxing Sugar Babies, Bridget J. Crawford

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

How people talk about tax reflects both personal beliefs and larger cultural attitudes. In many cases, whether and how a potential taxpayer understands their activities in tax terms may also reveal attitudes about themselves and the value that society assigns to those activities. This Article examines how sugar daddies and sugar babies talk about taxes in two Internet discussion forums to reveal the ongoing stigma associated with sex work. Through mostly content analysis, the focus is on the attitudes of sugar daddies and sugar babies toward taxation and the filing positions they take, as well as how tax professionals intervene …

Not-So-Special Solicitude, Katherine Mims Crocker

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

In a high-profile 2023 case about state standing to sue in federal court, Justice Gorsuch deemed it “hard not to wonder why” the majority said “nothing about ‘special solicitude.’” The silence was indeed surprising, for in a landmark decision several years earlier, the Supreme Court had declared that states were “entitled to special solicitude”—presumably meaning some sort of preferential treatment—“in [the] standing analysis.” And since then, commentators have depicted the concept as permitting opportunistic states to wage ideological crusades in courts across the country, especially through administrative-law attacks on federal government defendants.

But what if “special solicitude” is not so …

Green Gatekeepers, Luca Enriques, Alessandro Romano, Andrew F. Tuch

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

Products are routinely labeled “carbon neutral,” “recycled,” “biodegradable,” “ocean-friendly,” and “sustainable.” Bonds are marketed as “green” and mutual funds as “ESG,” while firms may pledge to become “net zero.” But are statements concerning environmental qualities reliable? It is often hard for consumers and investors to tell. Environmental qualities tend to have credence attributes; they cannot be verified even after consumption. Green gatekeepers constitute an increasingly important response to this problem. Occasionally required by law but more often enlisted voluntarily by firms, green gatekeepers certify claims made about the green qualities of products or firms, promising to significantly mitigate information asymmetries …

Reconceptualizing "Background Principles" In Takings Law, Timothy M. Mulvaney

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

Both libertarians and progressives rejoiced in the result reached by the Supreme Court in the 2023 matter of Tyler v. Hennepin County. This Article asserts that such unified celebration has overshadowed the extent to which the Supreme Court’s reasoning calls into question even our most foundational assumptions about the meaning of property and the takings protections the Constitution affords to it. Followed to its literal end, Tyler remarkably suggests that owners may well need to ground their expectations in the background principles of property laws endorsed by a majority of states rather than in those underpinning the laws of their …

Round Number Reference Points And Irregular Patterns In Reported Gross Margins, Matthew Cedergren, Valerie Li

Accounting

We find irregular patterns in the distribution of firms’ reported quarterly gross margin percentages. Specifically, there is significant bunching around percentage integers that are highly round (e.g., multiples of 10, such as 30%, 40%, etc.) or are neatly divisible (e.g., 25%, 75%), compared to what is predicted by counterfactual distributions. Further investigation reveals that highly round gross margin firms are smaller, exert higher effort, achieve higher productivity, have more difficult goals, and pay their CEOs with a higher portion of fixed income. We also find that highly round gross margins are associated with superior performance. Additionally, we do not find …

Family Therapy With Single-Mother Households With Pediatric Cancer Following Bowen’S Intergenerational Theory, Grace Harre

Student Projects

Single-mother households with pediatric cancer are a unique population that can face problems such as poverty, medical bills, social isolation, overwhelming stress, psychological or mental disorders or distress, and maladaptive family dynamics. Single mothers, in this way, have to navigate not only being both parental figures, but provide care, income, and support all on their own. The Intergenerational model aims to examine one’s family of origin and the dynamics or patterns that exist to interpret the current issue or problems that the client or client family is facing. Family therapy with a single- mother household with pediatric cancer following the …